The present invention relates to disposable caps, and more particularly to a military or overseas-style disposable cap.
Hygenic, throw-away headgear, commonly worn by food service personnel, is available in a variety of styles. Two popular configurations are the overseas style, peaked-crown cap and the butcher's flattened-crown cap. Basically, the overseas style cap comprises an oval or elliptical headband having front and rear end folds and a crown attached to the headband and projecting above it and defining peaks at each end of the cap. The butcher's cap has a headband similar to that of the overseas cap, but the crown is usually within the confines of the headband and is flattened against the wearer's head. As generally indicated in the prior art, the crown portion of the butcher's cap has the advantage of folding flatly within the headband when the cap is not in use, thereby facilitating storage and shipment. The crown of the overseas cap, on the other hand, is comparatively larger and more bulky, but the peaked crown is generally preferred because of its jaunty appearance.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,405 issued July 2, 1968 to Gruber exemplifies the flattened crown, butcher style, disposable cap. The Gruber patent discloses a crown portion which expands and contracts laterally within the confines of the headband along a series of accordion-like pleats. The opposite, longitudinal sides of the crown are adhesively secured to opposite inner sides of the headband, and the front and rear ends of the crown substantially align with the front and rear end folds of the headband.
Owing to its construction, however, the Gruber cap cannot escape its flattened-crown configuration. The cap relies on the end folds of its headband to pinch and maintain the ends of the crown in a folded closed condition which prevents the pleats of the crown from unfolding into an upwardly projecting, peaked configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,685,090 issued Aug. 3, 1954 to Wagenfeld discloses an overseas or peaked-style cap having a crown which may be everted or folded within the surrounding headband when the cap is to be packaged or stored. The crown material of the Wagenfeld cap is coextensive with the headband strip and is attached to the elongated headband material by pinching its lower longitudinal edge between two plys of the upper longitudinal edge of the headband. The vertical ends of the headband strip and the attached crown material are brought together, and the adjoining portions of the upper longitudinal edge of the crown are sewn together to close the crown along a central peak or upper stem. Thus, when the crown of the Wagenfeld cap is elevated no gaps can develop at the front or rear ends, since the crown material is coextensive with the longitudinal headband strip. The Wagenfeld crown, however, is stitched and closed along an upper, central seam and this limits and impedes the head size adjustability of the cap. Further, the crown of the Wagenfeld cap is not designed to be worn in a flat, butcher style, but is limited to a peaked, overseas style of cap when worn.